Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) is Willis Investment Counsel’s Largest Position

Willis Investment Counsel increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 0.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 331,926 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 497 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson comprises 3.5% of Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings, making the stock its largest position. Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $54,940,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 1,044.4% in the fourth quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the period. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Kepos Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. 68.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, VP Peter Fasolo sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.32, for a total value of $3,406,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 102,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,491,182.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, VP Peter Fasolo sold 20,000 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.32, for a total value of $3,406,400.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 102,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,491,182.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider William Hait sold 14,698 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.00, for a total transaction of $2,528,056.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 87,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,092,484. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.6 %

Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $162.41 on Tuesday. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $150.11 and a 1-year high of $181.04. The stock has a market cap of $422.10 billion, a PE ratio of 32.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $166.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $161.83.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 20th. The company reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.62 by $0.18. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.72% and a net margin of 13.35%. The firm had revenue of $25.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.63 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.59 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 7th. Investors of record on Monday, August 28th were given a $1.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 25th. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.93%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 96.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Raymond James dropped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $184.00 to $179.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 5th. TheStreet upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “c+” rating to a “b+” rating in a research note on Monday, August 21st. Barclays dropped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $158.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $186.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 31st. Finally, Credit Suisse Group boosted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 21st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $170.65.

About Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson, together with its subsidiaries, researches, develops, manufactures, and sells various products in the healthcare field worldwide. The company's Consumer Health segment provides skin health/beauty products under the AVEENO, CLEAN & CLEAR, DR. CI:LABO, NEUTROGENA, and OGX brands; baby care products under the JOHNSON'S and AVEENO Baby brands; oral care products under the LISTERINE brand; TYLENOL acetaminophen products; SUDAFED cold, flu, and allergy products; BENADRYL and ZYRTEC allergy products; MOTRIN IB ibuprofen products; NICORETTE smoking cessation products; and PEPCID acid reflux products.